Professor Mahmood Yakubu has handed over to May Agbamuche as the Acting National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Agbamuche is the oldest serving National Commissioner in the electoral body.

Professor Yakubu announced this on Tuesday at the ongoing meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners at the INEC headquarters in Abuja.

He solicited the support of the commissioners and directors of the commission for Agbamuche, until the appointment of a substantive chairman.

Professor Mahmood Yakubu is leaving office as INEC chairman, having completed his two-term tenure of 10 years.

President Tinubu is expected to appoint his successor soon, subject to a Senate confirmation.

Yakubu was first appointed the INEC chairman by former President Muhammadu Buhari to oversee the activities of the electoral umpire in November 2015, six months after he assumed the office as the President.

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He completed his first term in office as the electoral body’s chairman in 2020, and was reappointed for a second tenure by President Buhari.

Yakubu’s reappointment by President Buhari made him the first person to serve as INEC chairman for two terms.

He took over from Professor Attahiru Jega, with INEC conducting many elections, including the 2019 and 2023 general elections.

The Presidency has declared that it will refrain from taking any steps concerning the serious allegations of certificate forgery involving the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Uche Nnaji.

Instead, it will patiently await the court’s ruling on this pressing issue before deciding on any course of action.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made this position clear while addressing journalists on Monday. He explained that since the controversy is already a subject of litigation, the Federal Government will allow the judicial process to run its course before deciding on the next steps.

The clarification follows reports that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), has distanced itself from the academic certificate allegedly presented by the minister.

In a letter dated October 2, 2025, and signed by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Simon Ortuanya, the university stated that available records show Nnaji was admitted to study Microbiology/Biochemistry in 1981 but did not complete the programme.

“From every available record and information from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, we are unable to confirm that Mr. Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji graduated from the University of Nigeria in July 1985. There are no records of his completion of study. Consequently, the University DID NOT and COULD NOT have issued the purported certificate,” the letter read in part.

The minister has, however, strongly denied the allegations, describing them as politically motivated. Speaking in Abuja on Monday, he accused the university authorities of issuing contradictory reports about his academic records to serve the interests of a state governor who, according to him, wants him removed from office for political reasons.

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Nnaji also faulted the university’s refusal to release his academic transcript despite a court order. In September, the Federal High Court in Abuja had restrained UNN from tampering with his records and directed the institution to issue the transcript.

“It is increasingly clear that this entire episode is not about education or integrity; it is about political desperation, disguised as academic inquiry,” Nnaji said. “The timing, the sources, the false documents and the paid narratives all point to a coordinated campaign to drag a reputable public servant into the mud of partisan politics.”

The case has been scheduled for hearing on November 10, 2025, at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, has recorded its highest number of First-Class graduates since inception, with 185 students attaining the top academic honour in the 2025 graduating set.

Also in a major development for Nigeria’s private education sector, the Vice – Chancellor, Professor Shadrach Olufemi Akindele announced that Redeemer’s University has been selected by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) as one of the only eight private universities in the country approved to train government-sponsored postgraduate students.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Shadrach Olufemi Akindele, made this know yesterday during a press briefing to mark the university’s 17th convocation ceremony and 20th anniversary celebration.

Akindele described the milestone as “a reflection of the institution’ s commitment to academic excellence and character development,” adding that the 2025 convocation represents a season of “double honour” for the faith-based institution.

According to him, “We are not only graduating from another distinguished class, the indomitable Set of 2025, but we are also celebrating 20 years of Redeemer’s University. Indeed, this is a season of double honour,” he said.

“This is a remarkable feat, especially considering that there are 168 private universities in Nigeria as at today.

The Vice-Chancellor noted: “It affirms the credibility and standard of our postgraduate programmes,” the Vice-Chancellor stated. A total of 1,341 students are graduating this year, comprising 1,003 undergraduates and 338 postgraduates.”

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Among them, Mr. Joel Durugbo, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, emerged as the overall best graduating student with a perfect 5.0 CGPA, another first in the university’s history.

Akindele also highlighted the institution’s growing international profile, noting that Redeemer’s University ranked number two in Nigeria in the 2025 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings and emerged No. 1 in several Sustainable Development Goals categories.

The university’s African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), led by Professor Christian Happi, has also continued to earn global acclaim.

Happi was recently listed among TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2025 for his pioneering work in genomics and public health.

“These milestones confirm Redeemer’s University as a place where faith, knowledge, and innovation converge for global impact,” Akindele said.

The Vice-Chancellor recounted highlights of the university’s 20th anniversary, including new infrastructure projects commissioned by Pastor E. A. Adeboye, the university’s Visitor, and Pastor (Mrs.) Folu Adeboye.

Among the commissioned projects were the Faculty of Law building, the Josephus Institute of Earth Sciences, and the Redeemer’s University Staff School.

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Pastor Adeboye also performed the sod-turning of a proposed 10,000-seater university chapel auditorium.

Three prominent Nigerians, Evangelist Omolewa Yetunde Ahmed, Evangelist Mike Bamiloye, and Mr. Kola Adesina, are to receive honorary doctorate degrees during the convocation ceremonies later this week.

Akindele concluded the briefing with optimism about the university’s future.

“As we celebrate 20 years of God’s faithfulness and the release of the Indomitable Set, I declare that the best days of Redeemer’s University are still ahead,” he noted.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, on Tuesday swore in three members following their victory in the August 16, 2025, bye-elections.

The three new lawmakers are among the five elected to fill the vacant seats following the death of four members and the choice of Dennis Idahosa as the running mate of Senator Monday Okpebholo in the 2024 Edo governorship.

Recall that the Green Chamber lost four members due to illness in 2024, including Ekene Adams (Kaduna), Isa Dogonyaro (Jigawa) and Olaide Akinremi (Oyo), while Oriyomi Onanuga died in 2025.

In August, the Independent National Electoral Commission conducted bye-elections in the respective states to fill the vacant seats.

While the All Progressives Congress won four out of the five vacant seats, the Peoples Democratic Party won one seat.

Those sworn in on Tuesday are Omosede Igbinedion (Ovia South/Ovia West/Ovia North-East Federal Constituency, Edo State), Joseph Bagudu (Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency, Kaduna State) and Mukhtar Rabiu of Garki/Babura Federal Constituency, Jigawa State.

No reason was given for the absence of Elegbeji Ayola, who won the Sagamu/Ikenne/Remo North Federal Constituency, Ogun State seat and Oyekunle Sunday, who won the Ibadan North seat.

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Of the five, Mr Sunday is the only lawmaker produced by the PDP.

After weeks of legislative lull, the Senate will on Tuesday reconvene plenary with a packed agenda led by long-delayed security and electoral reform debates—issues Nigerians have anxiously awaited action on.

The upper chamber had earlier shifted its resumption from September 23 to October 7, 2025, extending its annual recess by two weeks and halting deliberations on several key national priorities.

Among the bills and motions now awaiting urgent attention are the proposed National Security Summit, Electoral Act amendments, Constitution Alteration Bill (2025), and the National Assembly Budget and Research Office Bill—a 20-year-old proposal aimed at strengthening fiscal oversight through independent budget analysis.

In an internal memo signed by Chinedu Akubueze, Chief of Staff to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the leadership said, “This is to respectfully inform Distinguished Senators that the resumption of plenary sitting of the Senate, earlier scheduled for Tuesday, September 23, 2025, has been shifted to Tuesday, October 7, 2025. Any inconvenience this short notice may cause is deeply regretted.”

Although no formal reason was given, insiders told The PUNCH the postponement was to allow lawmakers to participate fully in activities marking the October 1 Independence Day celebrations.

The delay, however, has fueled public unease as critical national debates remain stalled—particularly the Security Summit expected to chart a new strategy against rising insecurity nationwide.

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, who chairs the 20-member ad hoc committee on the summit, had earlier promised a new, grassroots-driven approach to security policymaking.

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“No amount of investment in infrastructure will yield meaningful results without peace and stability,” Bamidele said at the committee’s inaugural meeting in June.

Also pending is the Constitution Alteration Bill (SB. 855) sponsored by Senator Sunday Karimi (Kogi West), which seeks to amend sections of the 1999 Constitution widely criticised as inadequate for Nigeria’s evolving democracy.

Senate President Akpabio has often touted the chamber’s productivity, boasting in June that the 10th Senate had already considered 844 pieces of legislation—including 26 executive bills—with another 499 awaiting second reading.

“It is a record that has not been held by any Nigerian Senate in two years,” he said at the Democracy Day joint session attended by President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Yet critics argue that frequent adjournments and prolonged recesses have stalled momentum on the most pressing national challenges—security breakdown, electoral credibility, and economic recovery—raising doubts about the Senate’s capacity to match its rhetoric with action.

The Kwara State government stated on Tuesday, asserting that no local government area within the state is currently under the control of bandits.

The government criticized Opposition figure Peter Obi for allegedly using his platforms to disseminate misinformation regarding the security situation in the state.

The government made this clarification in a statement signed by the commissioner for Communications, Mrs Bolanle Olukoju, against the backdrop of claims that nine LGAs of the State were under the control of bandits.

The statement read: “We wish to alert the public to some reckless claims that nine local government areas of Kwara State are under siege by the bandits. This is totally false. No local government area is under siege in the state.

“The unfortunate challenges we have had in a few areas do not warrant the wicked escalation and fake news that are being promoted by opposition elements in and outside of the state.

“We have reasonable grounds to suspect that these elements are the online promoters and equivalence of bandits as they help to instill fear in the populace through fake news such as the unfounded claim of nine LGAs being under siege and the movement of gunmen in parts of Asa LGA.

“We regretfully observe that Mr. Peter Obi has lent his social media handles to spreading such fake news. This is not expected from him as a statesman. We request Mr. Peter Obi to bring down the post as it is totally false and inappropriate.

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“We also urge members of the public to avoid sharing unverified information, which may cause panic, confusion, and psychological trauma to the people.

“This irresponsible behaviour is making things harder for the security forces who already have enough on their plates.”